By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The EcoOil-La Salle Green Archers barged to the finals of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup after a dominant 105-70 win over Go Torakku-St. Clare Saints in Game 2 of the semifinals at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, on Tuesday night, April 30.

Raven Cortez had his best game of the conference, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks, as the Green Archers wrapped up the best-of-three semifinal series at 2-0.

Green Archers assistant coach Gian Nazario said the team is happy with the opportunity to win their third consecutive crown, but their sole focus is to further hone their chemistry ahead of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament title defense.

“Hindi namin iniisip ‘yun [three peat]. Tulad ng end of the classification round, we just want to take all the opportunity that we have, and hopefully, we get better from there,” Nazario said.

However, the Green Archers will still have to wait for their opponent in the finals round as the Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda Red Lions forced a do-or-die Game 3 after an 84-76 win over the Centro Escolar University Scorpions in Game 2.

Yukien Andrada led the way with 14 points, Emmanuel Tagle and Ilonggo John Bryan Sajonia added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Red Lions, which will face the Scorpions in a do-or-die Game 3 on Thursday, May 2.

“Sabi ko sa boys, ‘One win lang. Let’s just make us believe that we can beat them.’ I just challenged them to play better, harder and smarter,” Red Lions head coach Yuri Escueta said.

“Playing in this kind of close game is a good challenge for us. These games test our composure and mental toughness. Gusto ko lahat sila maka-handle ng ganitong pressure,” he added./ASC, WDJ